Ion Fury: Aftershock - 2019's Best Expansion Pack 

Gman I love you're stuff but I gotta disagree with you on this game feeling dated. Ion Fury wasn't made to be a movement shooter with dashes and slides and this dlc was never going to change that. Ion Fury wants to be an old school build engine game but pushed to it's technical limit by a team of creators who know how to get every last drop of power out of it. Stuff like Turbo Overkill or Ultra Kill is trying to be a modern take on the genera. Ion fury is a homage to the classics.

Not only has Ion Fury: Aftershock finally come out, but we also got a 1.0 release date for WRATH: Aeon of Ruin, an update for CULTIC and a new trailer for Core Decay. It seems like 3D Realms are finally getting their shit together.

BTW GMan, the baton one-shots the MechSects (the spiders). Has a funny animation too. Also, The hard cut to the credits was a bug. There's supposed to be an end cinematic. It'll be fixed on release day. (Barring any unexpected circumstances)

Excited for this. Nothing quite like build engine games.

The BUILD! Engine just has this very distinct, crisp feeling to it. It has insane details, incredible sprites and modular sectors that can change. It just feels so good. It is the absolute best 2.5D engine that has ever been made.

Not every retro shooter needs to implement a ton of fancy movement mechanics to be interesting, calling it dated for not implementing stuff like that when neither the base game nor the overarching genre it's in really hold that connotation is disagreeable, at best.

I'm not sure it's fair criticizing it for not being very innovative when it's just an expansion. If it was that different to Ion Fury, it would be a new game, not an expansion

I kinda feel like we've gone too far in the other direction. Movement mechanics are one thing, but the whole weapon swapping 3 times to kill a single mob isn't fun or engaging to me.

More Ion Fury in never a bad thing.

Im surprised you're not disappointed this DLC didnt add regenerating health and a 2 weapon limit

I for one am happy to see a game that is less spaztic about dashing and needles weapons swapping.

I think you actually nailed an issue with the genre currently: It's getting complicated. Hey, if you want more complex games, that's cool, but sometimes you want something a bit more "down to earth". Honestly I've played a lot of movement shooters and eventually got tired due to how much more effort was required out of me, so I played them less and less. It's why I still go back to older shooters or games that don't focus as much on heavy movement mechanics. There's a time and place for everything and when everything is the same, you've got less choices.

I never noticed before, but the collar under Shelly's neck in the portrait in the bottom-left actually changes depending on what type of armour you have.

I am quite happy that voidpoint did not "evolve" ion fury more into one of these movment/dash shooters. Those often pretend to be retro shooters but they only have the look of one but offer a totally different gameplay experience requiring totally different reaction abilities from the players that may not everyone be able to provide. It´s more like they fill some kind of sub-genre like a missing link between the classic shooters up to the modern fast paced ones but hell, let classic shooters be classic shooters, there was already enough failvolution the last 20 years i did not like. I already hated turbo overkill as they deeper i got into it the more it felt like sonic the hedgehog with guns......and stopped playing it as the experience felt alien to me.

I haven't played much Ultrakill and haven't touched Turbo Overkill or any of those movement-intensive shooters, but I replayed Ion Fury last year and had so much fun that honestly, I think a good Build Engine game is all I really need right now. Not everything has to be super-complex movement that demands you to connect your brain directly to the PC so you can control it better and with faster reaction times. Also, Ion Fury's soundtrack is fucking amazing and I can't wait to hear more of Jarkko Rotstén's tracker masterpieces. After playing Deus Ex and Unreal, I've gotten really into that style of music and can't get enough of it.

That Hoverbike sequence was definitely worked on by the crew who made the EDuke32 Duke Nukem Forever 2013 mod. If not just inspired directly by it lol

Thanks for the review. I got to say though sometimes I want just an old school shooter. Games like Ultrakill and Turbo Overkill you have to be ON-POINT with your movement to beat those games. I always play the hardest difficulties from the start and I still enjoy games where I am not having to put 200% concentration on dodging and countering 1000 projectiles coming at me while pressing 10 dodge/equipment buttons every 2 seconds.

Bring me a basic no frills retro shooter any day! 👍👍

That aunt May part had me rolling, just genius 😄

I hope this motivates people to make more art of Ion Fury

This game actually being on the original engine gives it such a cool look without giving it motion-sickness inducing movement like some of the other recent boomer shooters have. The environments and the references in here are stellar too. Happy to see Tech Noir get a shot out!

Ion Fury was a blast to play through. Looking forward to this and PF

“Say, thats a nice bike.” Fucking love that reference

Finally. We havent really had any updates about this expansion in like 2 years, and now theyre just shadow-dropping it out of nowhere.

i’m glad Voidpoint stuck with the same/similar formula with Aftershock as Ion Fury. i got into Ion Fury BECAUSE there was hardly any modern spin on the game. the newer “boomer shooter” formula would’ve ruined Aftershock imo. I’m so tired of seeing the same walking on walls, dashing, arena style fps and calling them part of the “retro fps renaissance”. sometimes people want just a true 90s dated type of game (with a fresh coat of paint as a bonus).

Fun is fun, whether it's 2018 or 1998. And the Build engine will still be fun for many years to come. 🎂

to me the lack of dash, wallruning, grappling is a perk rather than detraction. sounds pretty interesting tho i sortof wish this was done in same vein as 90s datadiscs complete overhaul (ex.: Duke Carribean)

So issues with a lack of new mechanics, other than the new mechanics they did add…. in an expansion pack. Its a good buy then.

I don't know... the critique "this game that styles itself from a 1996 retro shooter is dated because it's 2023 not 2019" probably won't be something the target demographic will regard much. Still, I do get missing certain mechanics. A grappling hook would be nice :)

I'm very happy about this expansion and Phantom Fury but I'd KILL for a Blood game using the updated build engine.

I’ve been looking forward to this and the Black Labyrinth expansion for years. Can’t wait to play this tomorrow.

I’ve been waiting on this forever. So glad to hear it’s finally coming out.

17:20 Ok, and who's pretending it's something that it isn't? It's an expansion pack for Ion Fury. Did you deadass expect wall running, grappling hooks or dashes or what? Ion Fury is a TRUE boomer shooter throwback, a fantastic one at that and Aftershock is just more of that. That short rant about modern shooters was completely out of place

more of the same is all i want , this looks awesome

I feel like the base game was missing a weapon like the Homewrecker. I definitely plan on getting this DLC

I'm actually glad it's more "old school" without the twitch shooting, arena bullet hell. I'm not a caffenated teenager anymore.

Nice. I love these new retro style shooters. Bought the base game on pc and ps4 and I don’t regret it at all. Definitely picking this up.

man, those driving sequences give me serious Ashes 2063 flashbacks.

This expansion may not be next evolution of the genre, but i's so good to just return to the roots sometimes :) Totally gonna play this

Ion Fury has the most listened to by me soundtrack of all the games that I've encountered. It's a masterpiece!

Ion Fury doesn’t feel like it’s from 2019; it feels like it’s from 1996, which is exactly what it’s aiming for. Honestly I’m not sure why you were expecting it to be more modernized. It’s whole shtick is being old school, which is what makes it awesome. Good review otherwise. I personally think Aftershock improves on the base game, having better enemy variety, more consistently interesting environments, and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

That Washington 4 skins joke never gets old 😂

Imagine waiting for this for so long you almost lost hope. Then you see some projects getting cancelled (SIN remaster). Then they made RealmsDeep and said "oh yeah, that game? We''re going to release it like tomorrow or something. Have fun!" At least it took them less than Dusk HD (5 years). This gonna be JUICY with Build Games Randomizer mod!

I'm happy with more of the same, I don't need sliding floor kicks or bouncing off the walls lol

Going to say this as someone that have not played the old Doom or Duke games. Ion Fury feels like a game that will be easier to get into then let say Selaco where I need to do everything Ion Fury does but also dash and all that.

The flying red guys exist just to shred your armor. But the Blood rules apply here, always toss explosives around blind corners.

"Enemies blend with the background" so happy you said that.

So glad this is finally coming out. Ion Fury remains my favourite of the legion of throwback FPS games and in my opinion (as someone who grew up playing these type of games in the ‘90s) is one of the few that actually gets it and feels like a real game of the time. Too many of these new attempts miss the point and shoehorn in a load of modern contrivances that destroy the feel (limited weapon loadouts, upgrades, Doom Eternal-isms and the dreaded “rogue-like elements”).

But speaking of games made in these older engines, maybe you would want to check out the game Ashes 2063. It started out as a total conversion mod for Doom, but was then later released as a standalone game for free. It is quite amazing what people manages to create in such an old engine with this one being more like Fallout than Doom.

Your IT Crowd references will never get old. Fricking adore that show to death!

The outro patron list is so god damn good

I've been waiting for this for ages.

How many videos have you released this month!? Working hard and I love it 🎉

I am actually very happy that this game is NOT influenced by Doom Eternal. I think it will take the fps genre quite some time to get over the damage Doom Eternal has caused to it. I don't want fancy platforming in my retro shooter. I also don't want to have to switch my weapons constantly because my character can't carry anymore than five bullets of any type.

I'm glad you changed your mind on the Ion Bow.

I miss the days of expansion packs - they used to be meaningful chunks of additional content, whereas most DLC these days just feels like it was a few levels or items stripped from the base game. And it's for that reason I kind of disagree with the end critique of this video, that the genre has moved on and this game feels dated. It's Ion Fury, it's an expansion to that, it's not trying to be anything other than more of the same. I don't want it to try and ape what the current 'in' thing is when I already know what the original game was and what it was trying to recreate, and if I wanted something like those other movement shooters... I'd just go and play one. All I can say though is... roll on Phantom Fury! Can't wait for that.

FINALLYY AFTERSHOCK COMES OUT. I HAVE WAITED YEARS.

You know I was so sure that aftershock had quietly gotten so big it had become phantom fury and that aftershock was quietly canned. color me surprised

9:05, that Animal House audio clip is why I love ya gman

Thanks for the review. I made up my mind anyway and will purchase it. Yes it's "dated" but it is what it is, an expansion with a new story and some content but nothing too crazy. I'm glad we finally got it.

wow, they did an expansion after a few years since release! I will check this out for sure

Just a day to release, cant wait

Oh shit, forgot i wishlisted this ages ago on Steam. Then your vid showed up in my feed just now... glad to see it's finally seeing the light of day. I have something to look forward to when i get home from work tomorrow. I have a soft spot for Build engine games having made maps (and an attempted TC) for Duke Nukem 3D. Ah... those were the days...

Eeeeh, I don't think that not being this new movement-shooter is a detriment. This game is good at being a Build engine game, with destructible and interactible envirionment and very complex exploration in those open-ended levels. These areas never tell you the whole story at the first glance, it later turns out that buildings weren't just decoration and were actually enterable and explorable envirionments. Now you see the main courtyard from behind 4th floor window and it's awesome. Sure they could have added double jump and a jetpack but they didn't had to. The game is good enough to stand on its own feet in its own genre, doesn't have to be 10th movement shooter in the last 12 months.

It's on my Steam wishlist, it's definitely a retro style that reminds me of the times of the N64 with Duke Nukem 3D.

Been waiting for awhile for this

I have been waiting for this for years

Im definetly going to check it out after this review.

I am so happy to see this return. How i have missed IF!

I'm glad to have more Ion Fury. I dont want more games to be like Doom Eternal or Ultrakill. Not every shooter needs to be focused on movement or innovation. I'm estatic it's fun 🥳

Well it sure took Forever for this to finally release. And look who just so happens to get a review copy for it the day before it launches😛

You should check out Ashes 2063 and its sequel Ashes Afterglow.

I, for one, welcome the exclusion of 'movement shooter' mechanics. I don't need a twitchy hyper precision shooter, I'm old and my reflexes just do not. I kinda hate how the boomer shooter genre went from 'let's make a 90's game' to 'let's make a 90's game but add a million mechanics from modern games.' Seems like the retro indie scene is losing it's character. If you want to make a modern game that's fine, but when you start trying to appeal to nostalgia at the same time, it's a very thin line to walk and I feel like most games fail.

"Movement shooters introduced so much. You can use grapple hooks" Dude, we had those in Quake CTF 30 years ago. That's not a new thing at all

I couldn't care less for modern shooter mechanics. To me FEAR is and will always be the sweet spot for FPS combat. AI that tries to actually beat the player, melee moves that give you some movement but don't take over, particle effects from bullets flying everywhere, multiple avenues of approach for "arenas" instead of Dooms big open arenas, etc. The only thing you could possibly add to that is a smaller but more identified set of weapons with clear strengths and weaknesses instead of following the formula of 1-6 starting with the handgun you stop using after the first map.

It's getting a DLC?! Ah hell yes! Loved the original game.

In all honesty, I get the whole "indie shooters have evolved" thing, but I will always cherish boomer shooters more than movement shooters. Sometimes, the latter would do too much for its own good, whereas the former would stay simple most of the time. And I'm a firm believer that simplicity is also a spice of life.

There are times when I don't mind the classics, however dated they may be. I still like 'Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem' because there just aren't that many shooters that put you up against so many enemies aside from 'Earth Defense Force', so I'm quite undernourished in that department (and also 'Siberian Mayhem' avoids a lot of the jerking around that the earlier games liked to get up to). I just feel like stuff like 'Ion Fury' isn't as fun as it could be. I'm looking forward to what they attempt to do with 'Phantom Fury', although I worry they're going for a darker story tone with that.

I loved ion fury, wish listed Both aftershock and phantom fury. Can’t wait

Glad to know it's good

Really love this Channel! Hopefully he plays Fortune's Run

Hey Gman I love your content

I didn't even know this came out finally! Epic really needs to promote this shit!

If Duke nukem just did this after 3D it would’ve been a huge sequel

I'm definitely hyped to have more Ion Fury to play...once Aftershock releases on Xbox that is. And I can't believe I'm only just NOW hearing about Phantom Fury...

Just realised that the enemy that disappears and respawns behind you is based on the Iron Maiden Seventh Son album cover Eddie.

Thanks for the reminder that I need to finish Ion Fury. It's sitting on my old x58 build in my guest house lol. Gotta get that save file on my main pc.

I cant speak for aftershock but what makes ion fury memorable is not that its a retro inspired fps but its level design was incredibly intricate and beuitiful. Other stuff like the destructability and enemy variety help too. Would say that in Ion fury circle strafing is only a good idea in open areas, closed areas unlike a lot of retro fps its better to peep around corners and pick things off.

Honestly I'm glad that this doesn't add any of those trendy new mechanics.

To be honest, playing a build engine game expecting it to be like a modern movement shooter feels like missing the point completely. Like playing a super mario world romhack while expecting it to feel like mario odyssey.

The best FPS shooters, I’ve played since it came out 4yrs ago. Really going to play Aftershock now, and not to mention the future sequel that’s gonna come out, somewhere in the near future.

I like how you used the light theme for youtube to emphasize the retroness of the game. Haha either way don't cut me into pieces haha

Honestly, not having any of the new modern stuff is refreshing to me. Sometime I just want a more pure boomer shooter experience instead of sweating everywhere on my keyboard trying to mad dash quick swapping and learning weapon combos like it’s a fighting game.

classic video one of your best

Ugh, that Patreon list credit song is still so sick!

Retro FPS titles took a wrong turn after Doom Eternal. Stuff like Dusk, Amid Evil and Ion Fury were a faithful recreation of that late 90s period, without mixing new and old in a too much intrusive way. You may like fast-paced stuff like Ultrakill, but I know I prefer to stick to the more "classic" boomer shooter revival.

The tone of this review is a bit different to your Ion Fury video in 2019, which is interesting! I picked this up on sale yesterday, before discovering Phantom Fury was being released in a few hours. 😂

Wait 3D Realms have actually released one of their games? Better check that the sky isn't green in this alternative universe.

Will you review AMID EVIL - The Black Labyrinth as well?

omfg that Aunt May clip caught me off guard; I nearly died laughing 🤣